What Is an Injury Settlement?
A settlement agreement is a contract between the plaintiff and defendant to settle the matter outside of court. It can be a fast and efficient way to get compensation.
Non-economic damages are harder to quantify in dollar amounts. This includes things like discomfort and pain.
Medical expenses
Depending on the severity an injury, medical expenses could be a significant portion of a settlement. These expenses could include medical visits, prescriptions and surgery. The majority of these costs are not covered by health insurance and can be extremely expensive. In addition, in many instances there are additional costs that come along with injuries, such as home healthcare adaptive devices, transportation to medical appointments, and more.
Medical bills are usually covered by your private health insurance plan, Medicare, Medicaid or PIP. If you are awarded a settlement with medical bills unpaid the funds received from the settlement will be used to pay these. Your lawyer can bargain with the billing companies and try to get the balances reduced.
Your attorney can also determine the proper amount of damages to pay for your other non-medical losses. These include loss of future income, pain and suffering, and other non-economic damages. In order to claim these damages your attorney must to submit documentation and an expert opinion on these other damages.
Loss of wages
In addition to the compensation for medical costs In addition,
injured victims could be entitled to compensation for lost wages. These damages are calculated based on the duration the victim was unable to work because of their injuries. A skilled personal injury attorney can assist their clients in recovering lost wages as compensation in a personal injury case.
You could be unable to perform a significant amount of work if you sustain a severe brain injury, a spinal cord injury or both. This means you'll have to prove that the amount of time you were unable to work was directly related to the accident. In proving the loss of wages, it is essential to include all sources of income. This includes regular wages bonus, overtime, and commissions. Include any days of vacation that you have not used or sick leave.
If your doctor decides that you can return to work within specific work limitations, the employer has to comply with these restrictions. This could mean rearranging your job or providing you with equipment that is helpful.
A skilled personal injury lawyer will help you collect all the data necessary to prove a lost wage claim. They can also aid in cases where the person injured is self-employed or earns a variable salary. In these cases an insurance company will need to review past and future earnings of the person who was injured and provide a reasonable estimation of the future loss of wages. This will require a thorough report from the plaintiff's accountant or financial expert.
Economic damages
When people think about personal injury damages they usually think of cost of medical expenses and lost wages. There are other expenses that are difficult to quantify in dollars. These are known as non-economic losses. They cover the more intangible results of injuries sustained by a victim, such as pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.
Pay stubs and bills may be used to prove economic damages for courts and juries. However non-economic damages are more difficult to calculate and may be dependent on subjective factors such as the pain and suffering as well as the emotional stress caused by the injury.
The suffering and pain could include physical, mental or emotional trauma caused by the accident. It can also include the person's inability to engage in their usual social or recreational activities. A jury will look at the extent to which the injury affected the victim's way of life.
Other non-economic damages include disfigurement loss of consortium, and loss of enjoyment of life. For example someone may be suffering from a disfigurement as a result of an accident that permanently alters their appearance. While this isn't necessarily an economic loss but it can be painful to endure marks and other permanent injuries.
Damages for pain and suffering
Pain and suffering is one of the categories of non-economic damages for physical pain and emotional distress you've experienced as a result of an accident. Unlike medical bills, auto repair costs, and lost wages,
Injury Attorneys these are more subjective damages that have to be decided by a jury. Every juror has a different opinion about how much compensation for the pain and suffering that they suffer is appropriate for your situation.
One method to help jurors understand the extent of your injuries is to provide documentation. Your lawyer can collect documents from your doctor that detail the extent of your injuries, along with video and photographs. The testimony of family and friends can be persuasive. These testimonies can help to inspire sympathy from the jury and show how your injury has impacted aspects of your life, like hobbies and family activities.
The duration of your injuries may also influence the amount of your pain and suffering settlement. The amount of pain and suffering awarded is generally higher for serious injuries that are disabling, as opposed to injuries that heal quickly.
Injuries can cause a lot of emotional and psychological trauma, and a successful injury claim should reflect the severity of the injury. Personal
injury attorneys can help you create a strong case, and negotiate a fair settlement for all of your injuries. If you have questions regarding an injury settlement, call Adam S. Kutner & Associates to schedule a consultation.